DS Question - inequality/absolute value

[WesleyM612]

This was previously incorrectly posted, so posting in this new forum...

My sincerest apologies if this has already been posted. I tried searching, but didn't see it. If it has been addressed, can you please point me to that question (or one similar)? I cannot grasp the concept behind the below problem and looking for some guidance.

This DS problem comes from the GMATPrep Software (Problem # QDS04648).

[redacted]

My biggest issue is simplifying the equation in the question stem - and then of course solving the problem.

Any help/guidance would be MUCH appreciated.

Thank you!

[RonPurewal]

if the problem has a question number like that, then it probably comes from the PAID software. if so, we can't use it here.

if the question is actually from the FREE software, please post a screen shot of the problem, from the free software. thanks.

[RonPurewal]

also, if the problem comes from the free software -- you'll have to ask something SPECIFIC about it.

please do not just post a problem here and say "i have no idea how to do this problem."

if you really, genuinely have no idea how to do a problem, then, honestly, you won't derive any real value from an explanation of it -- even from a very, very good explanation.
worse yet, you'll be wasting the problem, since it will no longer be "fresh" for a time when you ARE capable of tackling it.

you should classify problems as "green light", "yellow light", or "red light".
GREEN LIGHT: you're totally ok with the problem, and can solve it without significant trouble.
YELLOW LIGHT: there are one or two sticking points, but you understand MOST of what's happening in the problem.
RED LIGHT: the problem mostly or entirely confuses you.

the point is that you should NOT waste your time studying "red light" problems, EVER. you should save those until they are no longer "red light".

the forum should be for your "yellow light" problems. you should be able to articulate
• what approach(es) you've tried so far,
• what you ALREADY UNDERSTAND about the problem,
• what, SPECIFICALLY, you don't understand,
• where you're getting stuck.

[WesleyM612]

Thanks Ron. It did, in fact, come from the PAID software. I didn't fully read the guidelines that are posted in each of the forums. Further, I did not know that we needed to be specific in terms of what we are struggling to grasp when/if we post a question that meets the appropriate criteria. I was hopeful that it would be able to be explained through "different" words (as MP so often does) so that I would better be able to connect the dots (i.e., I would've classified it as a "yellow light" problem). With that said, I fully understand the guidelines now and know my question cannot be answered.

Thank you again for the response.

[RonPurewal]

Thanks Ron. It did, in fact, come from the PAID software. I didn't fully read the guidelines that are posted in each of the forums. Further, I did not know that we needed to be specific in terms of what we are struggling to grasp when/if we post a question that meets the appropriate criteria. I was hopeful that it would be able to be explained through "different" words (as MP so often does) so that I would better be able to connect the dots (i.e., I would've classified it as a "yellow light" problem). With that said, I fully understand the guidelines now and know my question cannot be answered.

Thank you again for the response.

no problem.

with the problem you originally had posted here, just try throwing a few different sets of numbers into the kinds of expressions that appeared in the original question, with an eye to developing a better intuition for how those expressions work and how they're affected by different kinds of numbers.